Copy-holder



(No Model.)

G. H. SEYMOUR.

COPY HOLDER.

No. 440,967. Patented Nov. 18, 1890.

A TTOHNE YS we noms Pains co., moro-mno., msnmnreu, a. c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. SEYMOUR, OF MARIENFELD, TEXAS.

COPY-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,967, dated November 18, 1890.

Application tiled September Z5, 1890. Serial No. 366,091. (No model.)

. State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Copy-Holder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in copy-holders; and the object of the invention is to provide a simple and convenient device by means of which papers to be copied may be held in such a manner that the entire page is conveniently displayed, and also to provide an indicator for use in connection with the copy-holder, so that when the copyist is interrupted in his work the indicator may be made to point out the exact place at which he left off.

To this end my invention consists of certain features of construction and combinations of parts,which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding` parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a perspective view of the copyholder and index. Fig. 2 is a broken longitudinal section showing the connection between the base-board and copy-holdin g board of the device, the section being taken on the line 2 2 in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the indicator, showing it detached from the cross-bar on which it is designed to move. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section of the same. Fig, 5 is a transverse section of the cross-bar which carries the indicator and of the clamp by means of which the cross-bar is attached to the copy holding frame, the section being taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 6 is a broken longitudinal section through the same on the line G G of Fig. 5.

The device is provided with two boards or strips A and B ot' equal size and preferably tapering longitudinally, the board A being used for a base-board and the board B being used to support the copy. The boardArests atwise upon a support and is connected with the board B by a strap C, which is preferably made of spring metal, and is provided at one end with a clasp C', adapted to be slipped upon one end of the base-board A, and at the c other end w with a clasp C2, adapted to be slipped upon the lower end of the board B. The board A is cut away at one end, so that the surfaces of the clasp C will be fiush with the surfaces of the board A, as is best shown in Fig. l, and the clasp C2 is open at the top and is bent at an angle, so that when the board B is inserted in the clasp C2 the upper portion of the board will recede from the front end of the base-board A. The board B is cut away at one end, so that the front surface of the clasp C2 will be ilush with the front surface of the board B. A spring-wire frame D is xed to the front face of the board B', the upper end of the frame extending above the top of the board and the sides of the frame being arranged near thev sides of the board. The lower portions of the Wire composing the frame are doubled under the lower end of the board, as is shown in Fig. l, and the extreme ends of the wire are bent inward, as indicated by dotted lines in the same iigure, and are driven into the board B. The lower portion of the frame D is bent outward, as is shown at (Land the upper portion of the frame presses against the upper portion of the board B. It will thus be seen that when a sheet of paper is placed between the frame D and the front of the board B the frame Will press against the paper and hold it securely in place.

A cross-bar E, which is preferably made of spring sheet metal, extends across the frame D, said bar being doubled under at one end and returning upon itself, as shown atE, and the inner member of the baris bent four times at a right angle to form a slideway E2 to move on one member of the frame D. The bar E is provided with a spring-clamp F, arranged adjacent to the slideway E2, the clamp and bar being preferably formed from a single piece of metal.

To form the clamp F, the end of the bar portion E is widened to produce a fiat plate F', adapted to rest upon the face of the board B or upon the copy on the board, as the case may be. The plate F extends above the bar E and has a straight edge at right angles thereto, and extending outward from the edge of the plate at right angles is the member F2, which is provided with a slot f2 above the plate F', the plate having a lip f5 extending beyond the slot. The member F2 is doubled upon itself at f, so as to extend back nearly IOO to the plate F', and it is then again bent at j" and reduced in lwidth to forni the lip f, ex-

tending horizontally through the slot f2 in the lower portion oi the member F2, which lip is finally bent at f2, so that its bent-down end will rest against the edge of the lip f5, which projects beyond the vertical portion of the member F2, a slideway f4 being thus formed, which aligns with the slideway E2.

When the clamp and cross-bar are to be mounted on the frame D, the opposite portions of the member F2 are pressed together, thus forcing the lip f5 of the member away from the lip f5, and the device is then slipped o'ver onemember of the frame D, so that the wire composing the frame will pass into the slideways E2 and fl and will be clasped between the lips f5 an d fot. the spring-clamp F.

The indicator G is mounted on the crossbar E so as to slide longitudinally thereon, the said indicator being composed of a single piece of spring sheet metal, which is doubled upon itself at g. One of the members is provided with a slot g', forming two tongues g2, and the other member is provided with a central tongue G of the width of the slot g. The tongues g2 are bent to form slideways g2, adapted to fit upon the bar E,and the tongue G is bent backward to extend through the slot g', and is then bent at g4 to align with and extend beyond the slideway g3, thus forming a hand or pointer G2, said hand being bent inward, as shown, so that it will press upon the paper to be held by the frame D.

When the paper is to be copied, it is inserted between the -frame D and the board B, and the pressure of the frame upon the board holds the paper in place. The clamp F, the cross-bar E, and the indicator G thereon are raised to the tcp of the frame D and are gradually moved downward as the paper is copied, and if the copyist is interrupted in his work the indicator G is moved upon the bar E so that the hand G2 will rest between the last word copied and the next word to be copied, and the copyist thus has no ditiiculty in iinding the place upon resuming his work. It will be observed in this connection that there is suiicient spring to the metal composing the indicator G to cause the opposite sides of the slideway g2 impinge upon the sides of the cross-bar E, and the indicator is thus held securely in place.

' When a copy is to be written in a book, several leaves of the book may be fastened together in any suitable way, and the board B may be raised 'from the board A, so that the leaves of the book may be inserted between the lower end of the board B and the board A, and the spring of the strap O will hold the device in place. rl`he device can then be slipped downward upon the leaves of the book to suit the convenience of the copyist, and it will be observed that the copy on the holder will be in such a position that the entire page may be seen by the copyist, and as it can be easilychanged, as described,

the copy is always held at a convenient distance from the eye of the copyist.

Then the device is not in use or is to be shipped, the boards A and B can be slipped from the clasps on the strap O, and the device cau thus be packed `into a very small compass.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let telS Patent, S-

1. A copy-holder consisting, essentially, of two similar boards connected by a springclasp in such a manner that one board will be held at an angle to the other, one of the said boards having la spring-frame mountedV longitudinally thereon, substantially as described. A

2. A copy-holder comprising a base-board, a copy-board adapted to be held to the baseboard, a spring-strap having one end clasped to the base-board and the opposite end to the bottom of the copy-board, so as to hold the latter at an angle to the base-board, and a spring-frame mounted longitudinally on the copy-board, substantially as shown and described.

3. A copy-holder comprising a base-board, a copy-board held to extend at an angle to the base-board, a spring-strap having one end clasped to the base-board and the opposite end to the bottom of the copy-board, and means for holding the copy upon the copyboard, substantially as shown and described.

fi. The combination, with the copy-board suitably mounted upon a base board, as shown, of the spring-wire frame having its lower end Xed to the lower end of the copyboard and its upper portion arranged to press against the upper portion of the copy-board, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a copy-holder, the combination, with the copy-board and aframe mounted thereon, of a cross-bar clamped to the frame and an indicator arranged to slide upon the crossbar and provided with a longitudinally-extending hand, substantially as shown and described. V

6. In a copy-holder, the combination, with a copy-board and a copy-holding frame thereon, of a cross-bar extending across the frame, said cross-bar having a slideway formed thereon to slide upon a member of the frame, and a clamp formed integral with the crossbar, said clamp lia-ving at its base a plate to rest upon the copy-board, and a slideway aligning with the slideway in the cross-bar, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a copy-holder, the combination, with the copy-holding frame and the cross-bar mounted thereon, of an indicator formed of spring metal, said indicator having a slideway to it the cross-bar, and a laterally-extending hand, substantially as described.

GEORGE Il. SEYMOUR.

Witnesses:

J. M. GARRETT, FRED LEISERING.

IOO

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